


Always On My Mind

by pyromanicofthesea



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: M/M, kinda sorta a past lives reincarnation soulamtes thing but not really?, no beta we die like men, rivalshipping - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-20 18:41:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30009255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyromanicofthesea/pseuds/pyromanicofthesea
Summary: It is said that the place your past life's lover kisses them the most, you too will desire to kiss upon meeting their reincarnation.
Relationships: Kaiba Seto/Mutou Yuugi
Comments: 8
Kudos: 31





	Always On My Mind

Ever since he first laid eyes on Yugi, Kaiba felt compelled to take the man's hands in his and kiss the backs of each. To hold Yugi's hands with reverence, to bow to him as he displayed his unending loyalty, to line each digit of his hand with kisses of love, admiration, respect, and servitude.

He thought the arguably intrusive thoughts would fade with the departure of the Pharaoh's spirit that once inhabited Yugi.

Kaiba was mistaken.

He thought the desire would follow him into the afterlife and plague the duel with Atem, the battle that spoke the anguised cries of his deepest essence.

Kaiba was mistaken.

He thought the absence of the whispers of his soul would be permanent.

Kaiba was mistaken.

He awoke in the hospital with Yugi, holding flowers, at his bedside. He wanted nothing more than to reach out to Yugi, to hold his hand and pull him close and brush away the tears that gathered in the corner of Yugi's eyes when he saw Kaiba had awoken. He hated how much he thought of bowing his head or kneeling, taking Yugi's hand in his, and placing a gentle kiss atop the knuckles.

He hated how much he couldn't bring himself to do it.

College for most came and went. He hadn't been in school since his junior year, so the passing of time and layman benchmarks did not draw his attention away from his company. The company Mokuba helped him manage more and more with each passing month.

He was proud of how much Mokuba had grown up. He was more proud, however, of how much joy Mokuba still received from life. It made him smile to see his brother happy and silly and excited over the many things his own years of youth stole from him. Capmon and street faires and movies that had more eccentric flashing lights than the display screens at KaibaLand.

He never liked when his thoughts grew so introspective. It made Kaiba feel like an old man, even though he was the shiny age of twenty-five and had an entire lifetime ahead of him. He rather daydream of ridiculous, improbable, disgustingly domestic moments with Yugi - a man he hadn't heard much from in the past year - than think of himself as an old man before his hair even began to grey.

The most recent daydream involved Yugi and himself walking on the edge of a pond. Kaiba had revisited that particular daydream more than once. He and Yugi walk hand in hand along the pond, until Yugi points out one of the fish. He pulls bread from his bag and feeds the pond fish small pieces. He's smiling, he's happy, he's radiating sunshine and Kaiba wanted it to be real so badly it hurt. Even in Yugi's distance to their already distant communications, Kaiba wanted to reach out to him.

Kaiba didn't realize he picked up his phone until he already typed the message. He wanted to discard it. He sent it.

[Thurs. 15:38]

To: Mutou, Yugi

**I need to tell you something. Can you meet me for coffee in an hour?**

\---

"Oh, that's just a sign of being lovers in a past life," Yugi said when Kaiba explained the intrusive thoughts, minus the particulars on who and what was involved.

Yugi sounded so calm about it and Kaiba envied him more in that moment than he ever had in his entire life prior. How could Yugi be so calm over such a thing? Did he know? Did each member of the past life triast have the same thoughts? Yugi hadn't showed any signs of interest in him. Did that mean the feelings had been one-sided in the past, or that Yugi had no interest in him in the present?

Did he even want Yugi to have interest in him?

"Kaiba-kun?" Yugi waved his hand in front of Kaiba's face.

Kaiba blinked and met his eyes for a brief moment, but he said nothing.

"I get the thoughts sometimes too," Yugi said with a look of respectful understanding.

Those soft eyes threatened to ruin Kaiba's resolve. Yugi may get the thoughts _sometimes_ , but at the moment Kaiba had the thoughts at _all times_. All because Yugi was there, taking up space in his vision and demanding his attention just by existing as beautifully casual as he did.

"How do you stop them?"

"I don't. I find them pleasant. Sometimes, they are comforting."

Kaiba watched a light dusting of blush rise to Yugi's cheeks. He must really feel for the person he thought of. How lucky that person must be, to take up Yugi's thoughts and bring comfort to Yugi's mind.

He wouldn't say it, but the thought of someone else taking up space in Yugi's mind when Yugi took up so much of his did not sit well.

"I want them to stop." Kaiba didn't realize he spoke until Yugi looked away. Silence hung in the air between them, suspending Kaiba's confession and its weight until it sank into both their bones.

"The thoughts should fade if you act on them," Yugi told him. The smile he wore was rueful. "I could never act on mine without making the recipient uncomfortable though, so I haven't been able to confirm anything. I know it sounds sad, but I'm fine with just daydreaming."

The flow of time around Kaiba screeched to a halt. Did Yugi mean him? Was there someone else? No, there couldn't be someone else. Not liking Yugi was almost as impossible as not breathing. Yugi radiated sunshine that wrapped one up in a warm blanket of joy and unending support. Yugi's smile lit up an entire room and put butterflies in Kaiba's stomach and made breathing easier and more difficult all in the same moment. How could anyone not like Yugi?

It had to be him. It was a hunch, but it was a hunch Kaiba felt sure of in the pit of his gut. It had to be him and he needed to reassure Yugi that everything was fine. Whether he believed in past lives or not, something long dormant in the core of his soul begged for him to hold Yugi close.

He realized too late that, while in his thoughts, he was staring at Yugi.

"I'm sorry if I said something that made you uncomfortable," Yugi said, looking away again. Hands that once spoke animatedly wrung together as tightly wound as the nerves within Yugi.

Kaiba acted purely on impulse. He grabbed Yugi's hands from across the table, his eyes meeting surprised ones as he spoke with earnest. "Nothing you could _ever_ do would make me uncomfortable. _Ever_."

Kaiba's eyes grew wide as Yugi's did the same. Kaiba realized what he had said, how it sounded, what it could have alluded to, and he did the first thing he thought of to do. He stood up and left as fast as walking feet could take him before Yugi could get in a word of response.

He left the coffee shop and a headache threatened to form at the base of his skull. His heart flew as if it tried to match a hummingbird's speed. How could he be so open like that? He had no confirmation that Yugi felt anything of the sort towards him, only guesses and hints and not nearly enough evidence to make such a bold leap of faith. Hunch or not, he was completely out of line to jump on impulse.

Running footsteps followed him down the street. He didn't want to turn around and face whatever anger Yugi would surely hold for him after such a display.

"Kaiba-kun!"

A hand grabbed him and pulled him to stop. The rush of joy at the contact - further confirming his suspicions that it was Yugi who followed him out of the coffee shop - was the only thing that kept Kaiba from pulling his arm free.

"Hey! I thought you wanted to talk," Yugi said between pants of breath from running to catch up with him. "Why did you leave so fast?"

He felt frozen in place, paralyzed by the fear of rejection he would surely face and the overwhelming need for Yugi's acceptance in the situation at hand. He knew he had to say something, but he couldn't think of any words to say that would excuse demanding Yugi's presence only to run away from him just as the conversation turned in the direction he wanted it to go in the first place.

Yugi's insistent eyes bore into him, leaving him feeling like an animal caught in a snare. A well of rage boiled up within his chest at the lack of useful words his mind conjured up.

In his frustrations, Kaiba all but yelled, "Because, Yugi, it's you and it's been you since I first met you and it'll always be you!"

The horror of his confession threatened to bring Kaiba to his knees. The only thing that stopped him from collapsing, dead on the spot, was the force of Yugi slamming into his front for a hug that could squeeze the life out of someone.

Kaiba wrapped his arms around Yugi without a second thought. Holding him close felt as natural as breathing. Yugi's warm touch and tight hold kept him steady, washed away the scattered thoughts, and left only the desire to take Yugi's hand and kiss the back of it with joyful reverence.

For once, Kaiba acted on the thoughts that had yet to leave him. He took Yugi's hand and leaned down to plant a lingering his on the back of it. He stayed there, drawn in by the scent of well-kept leather and card stock that never left Yugi, for a moment before he stood up enough to meet Yugi's eyes.

"If the feeling is not mutual, please spare my heart and tell me now." He could not bare more than a whisper. His words already felt far too loud as they fell from his lips like the heaviest exhale.

Instead of voicing a reply, Yugi grabbed Kaiba by the lapels of his overcoat and leaned up to press their lips together.

Yugi's lips on his own electrified him. The kiss was chaste, no tongue, no teeth, nothing but the firm press of Yugi's lips on his own and yet it took his breath away, leaving him lightheaded under the slow reassurance the brush of Yugi's lips provided.

Kaiba was amazed his knees did not give out beneath him when Yugi pulled back and smiled at him. He wanted to see that smile for the rest of his days.

"It's been mutual from the start," Yugi said as he brushed several locks of Kaiba's shaggy hair behind his ear.

Cheeks glowing red, Kaiba laced their fingers together as he leaned down and kissed Yugi again.

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this done for a while but it never seemed like a good time to post. Now it's posted, hazaaahh
> 
> Inspired by something Dellefox said in a groupchat. Wish I could remember what it was exactly, but I know it sparked this
> 
> Long live rivalshipping


End file.
